Adjustable rail-chair.



'A. G. LIEBMANN. ADJUSTABLE RAIL CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1913. RENEWED JUNE 30, 1914. 1 1 26,5 1 O.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

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AUGUST G. LIEBMANN, 0F BUTTE, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR TO VIGNOLES RAIL CHAIRCOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

ADJUSTABLE RAIL-CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915,

Application filed July 8, 1913, Serial No. 777,955. Renewed June 30,1914. Serial No. 848,308.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUST G. LIEBMANN,citizen of the United States, residing at Butte, in the county ofSilverbow and State of Montana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Adjustable Rail- Chairs, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to railway track appliance and particularly torail chairs for supporting and holding the rails in resilient stableposition upon the ties.

At the present time it is the practice on almost all of the railroads ofthe United States to use spikes for attaching the rails to the ties.This practice is disadvantageous for many reasons. The lateral thrustupon the rails, particularly on curves, tends to cause the spikes towear into the tie and enlarge the openings formed by the spikes and thislateral thrust further tends to tip the rail upon the edge of one baseflange, thus acting to either withdraw the spikes or at least loosenthem. The reason for this is that the spikes only grip the margin of therail base and there is nothing to support and buttress the head of therail and prevent any tipping action. Another trouble incident to the useof spikes as a means for attaching rails to ties is that it is extremelydifficult either to adjust the rail for gage or to use shims for thepurpose of vertically adjusting the rail. This vertical and lateraladjustment of the rail is more or less constantly necessary andparticularly on roads where the rails are subjected to great strain andin localities where the roadbed is subjected to the raising and loweringaction of frost and thaw. In case one section of the track is raised ora section is lowered the spikes will either be withdrawn or partlywithdrawn or the rail base will be too firmly gripped as withscrew-spikes in direct contact with the rail, and said rail will besheared.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of means whereby arail may be held firmly upon the ties without the use of spikes indirect contact with the rail and whereby primary and secondary fasteningmeans are provided, the primary means holding the chair to the tie,while the secondary means holds the rail to the chair.

A further object is to so construct the secondary fastening means thatthe rail may be either laterally or vertically adjusted wlthin the chairand held firmly in its ad justed position.

Still another object is to provide a chair and rail-engaging means soconstructed that the rail-engaging means may be shifted vertically toaccommodate any desired thickness of shim beneath the rail base andwhereby lateral or side shims may be used for the purpose of laterallyadjusting the rail to brmg it to gage and impart the desired resiliencyto the lateral strains of the rail.

A further object is to provide such simple means for engaging the railthat while it shall be securely held in its adjusted position therail-engaging devices may be readlly released and the rail adjustedwithout the necessity of withdrawing the permanent fastenings holdingthe chair to the tie.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a railroad tie and railwith the improved chair in place thereon; Fig. 2 is a verticaltransverse section through the tie and chair; and Fig. 3 is a plan viewof the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to these drawings, A designates a tie of usual form which maybe made of suitable material, but which is usually of wood.

B designates the rail which may be of any standard shape.

The rail-supporting means includes a bed plate 2 having a width equalpreferably to the width of the tie and having any suitable 'or desiredlength, this bed plate being formed with perforations in its corners forthe passage of screw spikes 3. By making the bed plate of a width equalto that of the tie a firm foundation is secured for the rail and the bedplate is so firmly supported that it will not be forced into the tie andthe fibers of the tie thus cut. This will considerably prolong the lifeof the tie.

The bed plate is formed with the oppositely disposed, upwardly extendingabutments 4. These abutments are braced by means of the buttressing webs5. The inner face of each abutment is vertical and flat and eachabutment at its middle is formed with a vertical slot 6.

Disposed against the rail on each side thereof and bearing at theirupper edges beneath the head of the rail are the rail braces 7. Theserail braces are downwardly and outwardly inclined, and each ail brace isformed at its lower end with an enlarged head 8 having an inclined underface which bears against the upper face of the rail base. The outer edgeof this head 8 has a downwardly extending rib 9 which engages over theside edge of the base flange of the rail, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Thisenlarged head 8 is also formed integral with a bulb 10 which islongitudinally bored, as at 11.

Disposed between each rail brace 7 and the corresponding abutment -1 isa plate 12 having a flat inside face, the inner face of the plate nearits lower edge being formed with a lon itudinally extending bulb 13adapted to it within the bore 11 of the bulb 10 and interlock therewith.Each plate 12 is formed with a perforation for the passage of anadjusting screw 1%. This member 1 1-. is screw-threaded throughout itsentire len th for engagementwith nuts 15 and 16. The inner end of eachmember let is formed with a head 17 having a projecting tenon 18engageable in a mortise or socket 19 formed in a hub or enlargementprojecting from the outer face of the adjacent rail brace '7. The heads17 bear firmly against the hubs or enlargements and thus a firm bearingis secured between the screws 14: and rail braces.

The adjusting screws 1t pass through the slots 6, and it is obvious,therefore, that a shim 20 of any desired size may be inserted between tle upper face of the plate 2 and the underside of the rail B and that theinsertion of this shim will lift the rail and with it the rail braces 7,the plates 12 and the adjusting screws 14. After the rail has beenraised to its required height by means of the shim 20, the nuts 15 and16 are turned toward each other until they bind firmly upon the plates12 and the abutments 1.

When the rail is disposed with its longitudinal axis coincident with avertical plane disposed midway between the abutments 4:, preferably woodshims 21 are used, said shims being preferably of the same thickness, asshown in Fig. 2. When, however, it is desired to shift the raillaterally, the shims 21 are removed and two ships 21 at one abutment areinserted between the other abutment and the corresponding plate 12.After the rail has been shifted and the shims properly adjusted, thenuts 15 and 16 on the screw members 1 1 are turned up so as to clamp theshim securely between the abutments 4 and the plates 12.

It is to be particularly noted that the lateral adjustment of the railmay be secured by removing the shim 21 at one abutment and so rotatingthe nuts 15 and 16 coacting with the other abutment as to laterallyshift the adjacent screw 14. Inasmuch as the action of the adjustingscrews 14 is very powerful, it is not necessary to secure the servicesof a section gang with special tools in order to shift the rails togage. It is obscribed is a particularly durable type for mountain lines.The chair is particularly solid and holds the rail with such stabilitythat it is adapted for relatively high train speeds on mountain gradeswith modern power and equipment. Furthermore, it will be noted that therail is held both at its head and base and that any tipping thrust istransmitted from the rail head to the base thereof and to the lowerportion of the abutment 1, this tipping thrust being further resisted bythe webs or buttresses 5. None of the tipping thrusts will affect thescrews 14, as the tipping thrust of the rail is supported by engagementof the lower end of the rail brace with the plate 2 and with the plate12. By providing an abutment 4 having a flat inner face and a relatively extended surface and a plate 12 facing the abutment having a fiatface and a relatively extended surface, the lateral strain exerted uponthe shim 21 is distributed, thus preventing the shim from becomingquickly deteriorated.

The oilicial report of the Block Signal and Train Control Board of theInterstate Commerce Commission, dated June 29,1912, calls particularattention to the failure of all track systems at present in use toresist the wheel flange pressure against the head of the rail and statesthat it is not sufficient that the ties should be able to support thevertical loads and resist direct horizontal thrust, but the overturningmovement of the rail must be resisted, and that it is particularlynecessary that suitable fastening means he provided for not only holdingthe rail to the tie, but resisting this tipping movement of the rail.The report further states that the means of adjustment of rail tie mustadmit of the blocking up of the rail for shimming, and that adequatemeans should be provided for lateral shimming whereby the gage of therails may be adjusted and that this means for securing lateraladjustment of the rails should not involve lost motion or change ofadjustment. It may be pointed out that the rail chair heretoforecescribed conforms to the requirements referred to in this report and atthe same time the fastenings are not of a complicated nature, but

such as may be readily operated by one la borer. Further, it may bepointed out that the primary fastenings 3 whereby the chair is held tothe tie need not be removed for either lateral or vertical shimming.

What I claim is 1. A rail chair comprising a bed plate having upstandingabutments, rail braces adapted to engage a rail and disposed betweensaid abutments, vertically disposed plates each confronting one of saidabutments and each movable vertically with the corresponding rail brace,and a screw passing through each one of the abutments and thecorresponding plate.

2. A rail chair comprising a bed plate having upstanding abutments, railbraces adapted to engage a rail and disposed between said abutments,vertically disposed plates each confronting one of said abutments andeach movable vertically with the corresponding rail brace, and a screwpassing through each one of the abutments and the corresponding plate,said screw enga ing at its inner end with the corresponding rail brace.

3. A rail chair comprising a base plate having upstanding abutments eachof said abutments being vertically slotted, rail braces disposed betweenthe abutments and adapted to engage opposite sides of a rail,

a vertical plate disposed on the inside face of each abutment andengageable with the adjacent rail brace for vertical movement, screwthreaded members passing each through the slot of one of said abutmentsand through the corresponding plate and engaging with the correspondingrail brace, and nuts engaging the screw-threaded members on the outsideof the abutments and on the inside of the plates.

l. The combination with a tie and a rail, of a bed plate upon which therail rests having upstanding abutments, each of said abutments beingvertically slotted, rail-engaging members disposed one on each side ofthe rail, means for holding a shim between the rail-engaging members andthe abutments, and means for clamping said shims in place.

5. A rail chair comprising a bed plate having upstanding abutments eachvertically slotted, oppositely disposed rail braces adapted to engagewith the head and base of a rail, each rail base being formed with abulb having a longitudinally extending bore, plates disposed one inwardof each of the abutments and confronting the same, each plate having abead adapted to engage with the bore of the corresponding rail basebulb, screw -threaded members passing each through the slot of thecorresponding abutment and through the corresponding plate and engagingwith the corresponding rail brace, and nuts on said members and bearingagainst the plates and said abutments, respectively.

6. A rail chair including a bed-plate having upstanding abutments, railsecuring members adjustable laterally and vertically with respect to thebed-plate, side shims adapted to be interposed between the rail securingmembers and abutments, and means for locking the rail securing membersto a rail and the side shims to the abutments in different positions ofvertical and lateral adjustment of said rail securing members.

7. A rail chair including a bed-plate having oppositely disposedupstanding abutments, rail securing members adjustable laterally andvertically between the abutments, wood side shims adapted to beinterposed between the rail securing members and the abutments, meansfor locking the rail securing members to a rail and holding said railsecuring members in different positions of vertical and lateraladjustment, said locking means also serving to prevent displacement ofthe side shims.

8. In a rail chair, the combination with a bed-plate having upstandingabutments, of a rail adapted to rest on the bed-plate or on a horizontalshim between said abutments and adjustable laterally and vertically withrespect to the bed-plate, rail-securing members bearing against the railon opposite sides thereof, plates co-acting with the abutments, verticalside shims adapted to be interposed between the plates and abutments,and means piercing the plates, abutments and side shims and engaging therail securing members for holding the rail in diiferent positions oflateral and vertical adjustment.

9. In a rail chair, the combination with a bed-plate having spacedupstanding abutments, of a rail resting on the bed-plate or on a shimbetween the abutments and adjustable laterally and vertically withrespect to the bed-plate, plates co-acting with the abutments, railbraces bearing against the sides of the rail and having pivotal connec*tion with the adjacent plates, side shims adapted to be interposedbetween the abutments and plates, and means piercing the abutments,plates and side shims and engaging the rail braces for holding the railin difierent positions of lateral and vertical adjustment.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST Gr. LIEBMANN. a 8.

Witnesses:

W'M. Nnss, W. H. MALONEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Gommission'er of Patents Washington, D. C.

